Trump Designates Major Drug-Producing and Transit Countries, Including China and 22 Others

On July 16, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act into law.

[People News] U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday (September 15) designated China, India, and 22 other countries as major drug transit countries or major illicit drug-producing countries. He urged these countries to fulfill their obligations and cut off the supply of these drugs, warning that otherwise they would face serious consequences. That same day, Trump announced that he would speak with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping on Friday. Trade officials from both countries had held two days of talks in Madrid, Spain, and reached a framework agreement regarding TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media platform that is highly popular among Americans.

According to Voice of America, on Monday the U.S. State Department’s Office of the Spokesperson submitted to Congress the Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2026.

In the determination, President Trump listed China, India, and 22 other countries as major drug transit countries or major illicit drug-producing countries.

“The People’s Republic of China is the largest global source of precursor chemicals needed to manufacture illicit fentanyl, and this fact is well documented. For a long time, the PRC has subsidized exports of these precursor chemicals needed for deadly drugs and has failed to prevent Chinese companies from selling them to known criminal cartels, fueling the production of illicit fentanyl in Mexico and elsewhere,” President Trump said in the determination.

He stated that for this reason he had taken bold action to hold Beijing accountable—imposing an additional 20% tariff on China for failing to implement effective reforms to stop the flow of precursor chemicals.

President Trump also mentioned that he signed an executive order canceling the duty-free “de minimis” exemption for low-value goods from China. He said that Chinese companies had previously used this exemption to hide illegal substances within legitimate trade.

In addition, China remains a major supplier fueling the worldwide spread of other synthetic drugs, including nitazenes and methamphetamines.

He said: “The leadership of the PRC can and must take stronger and sustained action to cut off the flow of these chemicals and prosecute the drug traffickers who facilitate them.”

Aside from China, Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma (Myanmar), Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela were also identified as major drug transit countries or major illicit drug-producing countries.

President Trump called on these countries to take action, warning of serious consequences if they failed.

“The United States will devote all necessary resources to punish the criminals who help manufacture, transport, and smuggle illicit drugs across our borders. At the same time, I will call on the source and transit countries of these drugs to fulfill their obligations and cut off these supplies, or else they will face serious consequences,” Trump said.

That same day, Trump stated on Truth Social that he would speak with Xi Jinping on Friday. He said the latest round of U.S.-China trade talks, which began over the weekend, was “going very well.”

On Sunday, U.S. and Chinese representatives met in Madrid, Spain. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discussed economic and trade issues with senior CCP officials, including Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, and reached a framework agreement on TikTok.

Prior to the Madrid meeting, CCP authorities had repeatedly rejected U.S. demands that TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sell its controlling stake to American investors.

President Trump has extended the grace period of the TikTok ban three times. The final deadline for the popular app to find a U.S. buyer or face a ban is September 17.
△